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Veterans Needed to Take Action Against Nuclear Weapons
 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is visiting Pearl Harbor at the end of this month. This visit coincides President Obama’s visit to Hiroshima earlier this year. Veterans For Peace is heartened to see the steps made towards friendly diplomacy and the focus on nuclear disarmament. As military veterans who have trained for and/or fought in wars, we know that any step, even small ones, make a difference in efforts to reduce violence and death. However, we continue to be dismayed at the lack of accountability that the U.S. has taken towards unleashing the most devastating attack the world has ever seen. The U.S. remains the only country in the world that has used nuclear weapons, of which the side effects are still being felt today. < See Full Statement> Veterans For Peace calls on President Obama to publicly apologize for the usage of nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to take responsibility for the horrific outcomes those bombs had on Japan.
Veterans For Peace Statement on Syria
 We have seen strong disagreements within the peace movement on the reasons behind this war, and on what our response should be. Those disagreements even exist within our ranks. As we struggle through the complexities of the war, we recognize that most of us are far removed from it, fortunate to be safe in our homes and able to voice these disagreements without fear of reprisal. However, our mission at Veterans For Peace has not changed. We oppose war. We are against the targeting of, as well as the failure to protect, innocent civilians caught up in war, or any other conduct by an individual, group or nation that could be classified as a war crime. We oppose U.S. military involvement in other countries that violates international law. Veterans For Peace believes we have a great responsibility to hold our government accountable for the atrocities it has committed across the globe. Therefore, we call upon the U.S. to end its wars that violate the Constitution, in particular Article 1, Section 8, as well as its obligations under its treaties, including, but not limited to, the United Nations Charter, War Powers Act, the Authorization for the Use of Military Force 2001 and the Kellogg-Briand Pact. <See Full Statement>
Vietnam Full Disclosure: Letters To the Wall Book
A second edition of LETTERS TO THE WALL is now available at a 30% discount price.
This book is made up of 187 or so letters written over the past two years to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Wall in Washington, DC). Letter writers include combat veterans, war resistors, families of both, and anyone who was/is directly impacted by the war.
A message from Doug Rawlings:
We in VFP are using this collection as part of our Full Disclosure campaign to confront the Pentagon’s revisionist history of the war. We think this collection could be an invaluable resource for anyone who is studying the American War in Vietnam. We are continuing to collect letters that we will deliver to The Wall every Memorial Day for the next ten years. If you want to write a letter, please send it to me, Doug Rawlings, at this email address: rawlings@maine.edu.
Before doing so, however, I recommend reading this book. You may purchase the print version or the e-book version below.
Hawaii, Ch 113, Vigil at President Obama's Holiday Home for 9th Year!
The vigil began in December 2008 before he was sworn into office in January 2009 on the issue of the 27-day Israeli attack on Gaza. The vigil has continued for the 8 years
President Obama has been in office on issues of importance: Continuing Israeli attacks on Gaza; Closing Guantanamo; Assassin Drones; US militarization of Asia and the Pacific; US military construction at Henoko, Okinawa; Jeju Island, South Korea; Illegal Government Surveillance; and Chelsea Manning; and Ed Snowden, among many others.
Those attending the vigil are from social justice organizations in Honolulu including Veterans for Peace, Hawaii Peace and Justice and World Can’t Wait.
Remembering the Christmas Truce
Veterans For Peace is celebrates the anniversary of the Christmas Truce. We urge our leaders to follow the example set by the Christmas Truce soldiers who rejected militarism and the glorification of war. We call on the nation to honor veterans and all those who have died in war by working for peace and the prevention of war. Who better than veterans who work for peace to tell the story of these soldiers' celebration of peace in the midst of war? There is no better way to honor the dead than to protect the living from the fear, terror and morale deprivation of war.Our society needs to hear this story that peace is possible.
Larry Johnson, VFP Member, Releases "Sixty-one"
Larry Johnson sends the latest update on his new book!
Sixty-one, by longtime Golden Valley, Minnesota, storyteller and peace activist, emerged from the author’s experience as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War era. Drafted to serve as an unarmed Army medic, Specialist Johnson was stationed in Germany. These sixty-one short essays span Larry’s boyhood 50 mile hike, answering JFK’s call for physical fitness in 1961; a 61-mile hike decades later when he turned 61-years old; and a 70-mile hike in 2016 known as the BEATING WEAPONS INTO WINDMILLS WALK. Together, the essays are a mantra for peace: less war, fewer veterans and an end to equivocation about veteran care, especially in areas of mental health and exposure to chemical toxins.
Veterans For Peace Comes of Age-a Highlight History by Woody Powell
It is a compiliation of many past presidents, board members and executive directors. It details many amazing inititiaves that VFP has taken, witness trips that members have gone on, histories of conventions and projects around the globe. For example did you know that VFP had an incarcerated veterans chapter? Ed Hart writes a detailed history of this chapter in the "Myer Pettyjohn Story" (pg. 47).
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In This Issue:
VFP Members Reflect on Standing Rock
 Over the last few months, many members have traveled to Standing Rock. Some of you sent in beautiful reflections! Please see our compilation of those reflections: "Reflections from Standing Rock"
Do You Know MFSO?
After 15 years of war, Military Families Speak Out [MFSO] stands ready to meet the challenges ahead with renewed vigor. MFSO is an organization of military families who are opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and have a loved one currently serving in the military, who has served in the military since 9/11, or who has died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Please reach out to Pat Alviso at mfso@mfso.org if you or your family members would like to learn more. Phone: 562-597-3980
E-mail: mfso@mfso.org
Members Mike Hanes and Rory Fanning Travel to Japan
While there they participated in a Japanese Documentary about former US soldiers rising up against the U.S. base construction at Okinawa.
"No More / Military Bases!" Sitting in front of the US military base is Mike Hanes, a former U.S. Marine who was stationed in Okinawa. Following the appearance of Mike, the interview team interviews other members of the "US military" that is not visible from Japan, such as young soldiers and homeless former soldiers.
¡Presente! Larry Colburn
Larry Colburn, the last surviving member of the helicopter crew that stopped the My Lai massacre during the Viet Nam war, has died at age 67. Colburn was part of a three-person helicopter crew that confronted fellow U.S. soldiers who were slaughtering hundreds of innocent Vietnamese villages. Colburn was 18 years old when he agreed to stand alongside his crew members, Hugh Thompson and Glenn Andreotta. The three threatened to fire on U.S. troops if they continued the massacre.
During the war, an American Army helicopter happened to fly over the village of My Lai and saw the American soldiers slaughtering the unarmed civilians (about 500 villagers died in the massacre). The pilot of the helicopter landed the 'copter between the soldiers and the villagers, and his crew pointed their weapons at their fellow soldiers. Larry Colburn tells his story on Democracy Now!.
Some years ago, the helicopter crew led by the pilot, Hugh Thompson, visited My Lai again, where a memorial to the villagers stands now. They were honored in a ceremony by the Vietnamese, who thanked them for their courage in saving the survivors.
VFP Annual Tour to Viet Nam! Deadline Approaching!
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Nadya Williams, VFP Volunteer Spring Tour Coordinator in San Francisco. E-mail: nadyanomad@gmail.com Home: (415) 362-0162; Cell: (415) 845-9492
Deadline to join & pay is Jan. 5th!
Do You Have a Great Resource?
We want to hear from you!
We are hoping to include a helpful resource in our weekly VFP E-News Do you have a resource that you have found useful in your work for peace? A great movie? Good guides to build organizing skills? Let us know!
Please send Resources that can be accessed online or are available to folks across the country.
Brrrrr, It's Cold Outside!
One of the easiest and simplest ways to spread the message of peace throughout the year is by wearing your Veterans For Peace gear. Plus, proceeds from store sales help us continue our work.
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